Friday, March 11, 2011

Paperback 392: The Leather Burners / Bliss Lomax (Century Western 54)

Paperback 392: Century Western 54 (1st ptg, 1947)

Title: The Leather BurnersAuthor: Bliss LomaxCover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: $13

Best things about this cover:

It's like two guys at a Flamboyant Ascot convention are having a chummy discussion about fabric texture: "Go on, feel it with your knuckles ... hey, easy, not so hard, I paid 6Gs for this. Persian silk. Etc."

If this is a fight, it appears to have begun with a drink dispute—specifically, with the question of which is the manlier drink: Miller Lite or a whiskey sour? Unsurprisingly, whiskey sour man is kicking ass.

Best things about this back cover:

In case you were wondering about the plausibility of my ascot scenario, I give you: Rainbow.

Page 123~

Rainbow saw Lint Granger stumble and go headlong. Grumpy was at the sheriff's side in a flash. Lint was heavy, raw boned, but Grumpy picked him up in a single movement, hurled him forward toward safety.

I wish this book were called "A Man Named Lint." Who *wouldn't* read that?

Not sure what kind of character-naming prowess I expect from a guy named "Bliss."

Well, Ben, it could be turned into a musical by Elton John with lyrics by Ellen Degeneras, staring Ricky Martin, Adam Lambert, and Clay Akien. (On a side note - Ever notice how it's only the has beens and the celebs desperate for attention whom "come out"? Makes me wonder if they're faking it.)

Cover: "Heck, y'd've'n't ought'o go 'round restin' y'false arm on the shoulder of a fello' with a permanent crick in his neck!"

THE LEATHER BURNERS: Great title - for a gay biker porno! (Reminds me of the camp cowboy gag, "I love the feeling of chaps rubbing on my thighs!").

No wonder Gibbs was so 'Grumpy' - his mate was called Rainbow!

Virtually ever line of the back cover reads as a euphemism for filth: how did Crazy Horse feel about Rainbow and Grumpy "horning" into his "hotbed"?

And this mine, did it belong to the Lost Dutchman, and was it found down an alley, bent over a bin?

Who "raw boned" Lint, and did he resent being treated like a piece of fluff?

Oh, well, at least there's the possibility of a bit of hetero action, too, because Dan wants to take control of Sharon's "narrow-gauge railroad", though given how his other name's Slack I'm not holding any high hopes.

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